Page 55 of I Wanna Be Your Lager

“The usual,” Eve says at the same time.

Jake nods. “I’m going to get some water and go back to bed.” Both of us stare as Jake strolls in the kitchen and back through the living room with a bottle of water. We’re silent until his door clicks shut.

My shoulders drop, and I huff out a laugh. “How many close calls are we going to have before we get caught?”

“I think we have one or two more times left in us.” A smile curves across her lips.

I shake my head and laugh. “Good night, Eve.”

“Good night, Lach. Sweet dreams. I know mine will be.” She flashes me a sultry smile.

My dick twitches in my jeans, and I exhale a deep groan. There’s a good chance I won’t be falling asleep for at least another hour while I lie awake, thinking of all the sweet dreams we could be having together.

The next day, I’m back at Porter’s while Eve has the day off, but I’d much rather be with Eve. Playing dodge-Jake is cramping my style. He said I could stay as long as I needed, but I’m thinking time is up if I’m going to get any alone time with Eve. Better yet, I should just tell him I’m falling for his sister. Not falling, but fallen. I’ve fallen hard for her, which is just as terrifying as telling Jake. Maybe if I tell him while at the bar, with witnesses, he won’t physically hurt me. It’s an option.

Jake strolls down the bar with a case of beer in his hands. He stops a few feet shy of me and is definitely out of reach. Resting the edge of the box against the cooler, he flips open the top, grabs three bottles with one hand, and transfers them inside.

I wipe my palms on my jeans and swallow. Hard. “So, Jake.” Without stopping, he peers up at me. “I wanted to?—”

A crash on the opposite side of the bar startles us. “Fuck,” Jake murmurs under his breath.

He shoves the box to the top of the cooler and stomps to where two guys are currently in a shoving match. I’m a few steps behind him. One thing Jake doesn’t tolerate is fights in his bar. He wrangles one guy while I take the other. We toss them both onto the sidewalk, and their friends follow. We return to behind the bar, and Jake goes back to filling the cooler as if nothing happened.

“What were you going to say?”

Shit. Later. I’ll tell him later. He has adrenaline racing through his veins. There’s no doubt he’ll do more than throw me out on the sidewalk. “I wanted to say, let me know when you want to start the bathroom renovation.”

“I will.”

I walk to the other end of the bar to serve customers mostly so I don’t have to look Jake in the face. I lied to my best friend. Truth be told, I’vebeenlying to him. Lying by omission. I’m a terrible fucking friend.

TWENTY-EIGHT

PEE STICK

Eve

I wake up to a message from Lach.

Lach

I tried to tell him.

Lach

I couldn’t do it.

A rock crashes in the pit of my stomach. I hate the sneaking around. I hate not wrapping my arms around him in public. I hate we’re lying to Jake. I understand why. The last thing I want to be is in the middle of Lach and my brother’s friendship. All of it is exhausting. After our date, we can regroup and finally draft a plan to tell Jake. The longer this goes on, the worse it’s going to get. When I exit my bedroom, the house is quiet. In the kitchen, I peel back the curtain, only to see the driveway is empty. I prep the coffeemaker to brew half a pot, then return to my bedroom. As the coffee brews, I grab my phone from the nightstand and send a text to Lach.

Eve

If you need me to tell him, I will. You don’t have to be the one to tell him.

A few minutes pass, and I don’t get a response. I stroll back into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee. My phone chimes with an incoming message.

Lach

He’s my best friend. I feel like I owe it to him to tell him myself.

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